Pop culture's creepiest and kookiest family is coming back to the small screen in Wednesday, a new series adaptation of The Addams Family that's in the works at Netflix. With Tim Burton in the director's chair, the project marks the small screen directorial debut for the famous filmmaker who'd previously turned down helming the original live-action film. Al Gough and Miles Millar, the creators of Smallville, also created Wednesday and serve as showrunners.
Ahead of the release of Wednesday on Netflix later this year, executive producer Gail Berman has dropped a small tease, via Variety. Berman explains that Wednesday is more of a "modern" take on The Addams Family but that it's a "clever" adaptation unlike any of the previous versions fans have seen. The producer also says how this is basically a dream come true to work on the series as such a longtime fan of The Addams Family.
"All the props go to [creators] Al Gough and Miles Millar. It’s their baby with Tim Burton. It’s a modern telling of the story, it’s a clever new interpretation. You haven’t seen this before. I love The Addams Family, I always thought it was an amazing, underutilized brand. I met with Kevin Mizracki a long, long time ago. The rights had become available and we took a leap. I had a deal at the time with MGM for television, and they got on board right away for an animated feature. It’s been a wonderful partnership, and Wednesday was an outgrow from that."
Jenna Ortega Plays a Slightly Older Wednesday Addams
Wednesday reimagines Wednesday as a few years older than she is typically portrayed. Jenna Ortega (Scream, X) stars as Wednesday with the character taking the central role. The other family members will be present but in more of a supporting capacity, as the show focuses on Wednesday at school interacting with faculty and classmates. You can read the official synopsis below.
The series will be a coming-of-age supernatural mystery comedy focusing on Wednesday Addams and her years as a high school student at Nevermore Academy, where she attempts to master her psychic powers, stop a monstrous killing spree of the town citizens, and solve the supernatural mystery that affected her family 25 years ago—all while navigating her new relationships.
Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzman will be featured as Morticia and Gomez Addams, respectively. The series also stars Riki Lindhome, Jamie McShane, Hunter Doohan, Georgie Farmer, Percy Hynes White, Emma Myers, Moosa Mostafa, Naomi J. Ogawa, Joy Sunday, and Victor Dorobantu. Christina Ricci, who played Wednesday Addams in the original live-action film and its sequel Addams Family Values, is also playing a supporting role in Wednesday, though not as an older Wednesday Addams through flash-forward sequences as some fans might be hoping for; she will play an original character as a replacement for Thora Birch who departed partway through season 1's production.
The Addams Family will be released on Netflix in 2022 with an exact date yet to be announced.